An American’s wild train ride through Australia’s outback

“I wanted an adventure, and I got one,” said American teenager Chad Vance to his recording digital camera, as he clung to the exterior of a train charging through the Australian outback.

The 19-year-old’s story goes like this: A passenger on the Ghan, which connects Adelaide to Darwin, the Alaskan student was bound for Alice Springs, but he disembarked the train for a break during its temporary stop at Port Augusta. As reported in the Irish Times:

“Stretching his legs, Mr. Vance returned to see the train leaving. Except for $10 and his digital camera, all his luggage, including his passport, was on board.”

“He chased after the train until it stopped to change drivers. He squeezed onto an external stairwell and huddled there, wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, as the temperature sank below freezing.”

In his short, self-recorded video, posted above, Vance said that he “tried furiously to bang on the windows and get somebody to stop the train” but without success.

“I was worried I wasn’t going to survive,” Vance said in a Telegraph report of his nearly two-and-a-half hour cling on a train that reached speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. The tourist’s yells were reportedly finally heard by a crew member on the train. The Ghan was halted, and Vance lived to tell the tale — and what a travel tale it is.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Video: You Tube]

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 8, 2009 at 10:47 am by Susan Derby and is filed under News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Pacific & Australia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.